The maxim, “Don’t miss the forest for the trees” reminds us not to forget the big picture while we move through life’s details, and has been a prevailing message in the preface to the Vijnana Bhairava— don’t get too caught up in the technique, the path, and forget the goal. And the opposite also holds true— don’t miss the trees for the forest— meaning, don’t get so caught up in your study of the forest that you stop taking hikes and enjoying the forest. Don’t get so star struck by the goal of meditation that you stop participating and growing through your life’s karmic equation.   

Shiva and Shakti are these two inseparable sides of the same coin, Shiva is the ‘forest’ you could say, a static concept that pervades our life fully, yet is not itself a physical aspect. And Shakti is the ‘trees’, the infinite ways that the forest manifests all around us. Our goal, as yogis, is not to miss the forest or the trees, to participate in our lives fully while maintaining awareness of the goal in our hearts. Yoga means union, and this experience of union is the work of our practice. The Rudramalaya Tantra, the text in which the Vijnana Bhairava is situated, can be literally translated as ‘the union between shiva and Shakti’, and this union is at the heart of the teachings in this preface. This union we seek is a dynamic experience, beyond the realm of thought yet directly experienceable in the form of our practice.

For example, the breath is moving in and out of all the time. This is an example of Shakti, the movement of our life force. If we walk this path of Shakti skillfully, we will simultaneously experience the path and the destination— we will feel the breath (the path), and the present (the destination), together in unity.  So even in the simplest practice of watching our breath do we have a direct experience of the unity of non-difference “dawning upon us” as JDS described it in the last section.

As we move into quotes and the text, try to feel this union within you. You are listening and learning, yet simultaneously you are feeling your heart and the breath in the present. You are whole, and yet you are studying the parts and learning how to be ‘more whole’, at the same time. You are on the path and destination simultaneously.

Verse 17: “this state of Bhairava, which is sung in the Tantras, is really the supreme state of the Goddess, Pārvatī. But is there any difference of supremacy? Is there a difference of supreme-ness between Lord Śiva and Pārvatī?”

Intro to KS: “[Shiva and Shakti] are consciousness and the power of consciousness. They appear simultaneously and are eternally related…The subject and object must be considered separately for the purpose of explanation, but it should always be remembered that both are present simultaneously. One is always predominant in the same way that a coin has two sides which can be seen, but only one at a time. These two factors are the first two tattvas in the process of cosmic evolution and are technically called the Shiva Tattva and the Shakti Tattva.”

Verse 18: Since there is always non-difference between Sakti and possessor of sakti (Saktimän) therefore being endowed with His attributes Sakti becomes the bearer of the same attributes. Therefore being non-different from para (the highest i.e. Bhairava) she is known as para (the highest i.e. Bhairavi).

“Because, for instance, when there is fire, its energy can be for burning, cooking, or lighting a room. All these energies are owned by fire, but those energies– lightening, giving light, burning, heating— but these energies are undifferentiated with fire. These energies are not different from fire…It is just to enter in that state of fire, i.e., to put a kettle on it…So, [in the same way], [the path of shakti] is to enter in the state of Lord Śiva.”

Guru Gita Verse 97: Idam Eva Shivam, Tvidam Eva Shivam,
Tvidam Eva Shivam, Tvidam Eva Shivam.
Mama Shasanato, Mama Shasanato,
Mama Shasanato, Mama Shasanata

Indeed, this is Shiva. Indeed, this too, is Shiva. Indeed, this too, is Shiva.
Indeed, this too, is Shiva.
This is my teaching. This is my teaching.
This is my teaching. This is my teaching.

Journal Prompt: When do you need help remembering that “This too is Shiva in your day and practice?”